1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of jewelry and fashion accessory holders and organizers. The present invention relates more specifically to an adjustable earring, necklace, bracelet, ring, and other accessory organizer and holder that is capable of being modified in its structure to retain and organize more or less of any particular type of jewelry or accessory.
2. Description of the Related Art
The common reference to a "jewelry box" typifies the state of the art in products to designed to hold, store, and organize jewelry and other fashion accessories. It has been found easiest in the past to create compartmentalized containers into which the various items of jewelry attire are stored. It is not unusual to find that jewelry holders for both men and women are designed to be placed on a dresser or counter top and are typically box-like structures with lids and internal individual compartments.
While many of the standard jewelry box designs organize the individual items quite well, they do little to make the items accessible to the user or to make the choice of which particular item to use, an easy one. The fact is that most jewelry containers or holders require the user to dig through the container for rings, or the container for earrings, or the container for necklaces, to find the one particular item that is desired. In many cases, it is not so important to find one particular item as to be given the opportunity to choose among a number of items to find the one that is most appropriate for the attire being worn.
It is known in the art to create jewelry holders, and especially earring holders, that display the items in a fashion more accessible to the user. There are a number of patents in the art specifically drawn to the storage and display of earrings of both the pierced type and the clasp type.
A number of these design to hold earrings incorporate a mesh fabric or screen through which the earrings are hooked or otherwise attached. Such designs include U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,745, issued to Saunders on Sep. 24, 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,011, issued to Butler on Aug. 30, 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,012, issued to DuFour on Jan. 19, 1988; and U.S. Pat. No. DES 315,654, issued to Hummel on Mar. 26, 1991, which all describe earring holders that incorporate mesh screens through which the earrings must be attached. While these jewelry or earring holder designs do display the individual items in such a way that the user can easily choose between them, they do not lend themselves to use with other types of jewelry or to use with earrings that do not provide an easy means for attaching or removing the items from the holder. In order that the individual earring items be held securely on the holder, they must be hooked into or attached through the material that makes up the mesh or fabric screen.
There are a number of designs that have been marketed and/or patented that attempt to overcome the limitations of these mesh or fabric screen designs. U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,886, issued to Seaberg on Apr. 26, 1988; U.S. Pat. No. DES 318,197, issued to Butler on Jul. 16, 1991; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,013, issued to Vollner on Apr. 28, 1981, all disclose alternative means for providing storage to either earrings or other items of jewelry. The Seaberg and Vollner patents overcome some of the limitations of the mesh or fabric screen designs by incorporating hooks at a periphery of the earring holders for the purpose of retaining rings, bracelets, or necklaces. Seaberg also anticipates the use of a base tray in addition to a large planar upright surface for holding a plurality of earrings.
One of the most significant problems associated with any of the jewelry or fashion accessory holder design that is intended for placement on a horizontal surface, such as a dresser top or other counter top, is its general unavailability to the user when the user is picking out clothing items to be worn. As jewelry items are intended to be matched with certain types or colors of clothing items, it would be advantageous to have access both to the jewelry and fashion accessories and the items of attire that are being chosen at the time. It would be advantageous, therefore, to be able to use the jewelry and fashion accessory holder at the location where most clothing is kept prior to its selection, namely in a closet. A jewelry box or accessory holder that can only be placed on a dresser top or the like, makes it difficult to both select the items of clothing and to select the accessories to match those items at the same time.
While some effort has been made in the art to design jewelry and fashion accessory holders that can be attached to the wall or door of a closet, these designs have thus far been limited in their versatility. Generally, the designs are specifically intended for one particular type of fashion accessory such as pierced earrings and do not lend themselves to use with other types of jewelry items. The designs often end up being too complex and cumbersome to create an efficient presentation of the accessories for easy access, choice, and use. Thus far, the field has not produced a jewelry and accessory organizer that is both versatile, in that it is capable of holding, presenting, and allowing access to a variety of different items of jewelry and fashion accessories, and accessible in that it can be positioned on a closet wall or closet door so that the user might readily view the jewelry and fashion accessory holder at the same time as the items of clothing are being selected. It would be desirable, therefore, to have a jewelry and fashion accessory holder that is both versatile and accessible, and is simple in its configuration so that ease of use is established.